With the new year in full swing, it's the perfect time to give your digital content a makeover and set the stage for success in the coming months. Whether you're a content creator, marketer, or business owner, ensuring that your online presence is polished and up-to-date is crucial for staying relevant and engaging your audience.
Ready to refresh your digital content for the new year but not sure where to start? Check out my tips in this step-by-step guide to get going:
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Reflect on the Past Year
Before you head into the future, take a moment to reflect on the past. How can you know where to take your digital content if you don’t know where you’ve already been? Going back through past content on all of your channels is essential to understanding what you need for the new year.
I recommend reviewing the performance of your existing content to identify what worked well and understand where your content might need improvement. Going through past metrics can help you assess your audience's feedback and the success of your digital strategies.
Did a social media campaign not perform as expected? How has your website traffic evolved over the past year? Looking into these metrics can help you realize what connects with your audiences and when other factors like holidays and world events might have impacted their reactions. This deeper reflection serves as a foundation for understanding what motivates and influences your audiences and how you can refine your strategy to meet their needs.
Define Your Goals
Now that you have a clear understanding of how your content is performing and connecting with your audience, it’s time to set achievable goals for your digital content. If you’re like me, it can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting to achieve many different things all at the same time, but doing this can lead to burnout if you’re not careful. That’s why I recommend using a tried-and-true approach by establishing S.M.A.R.T goals. In case you’re not familiar, MindTools explains what this acronym means below:
Specific: What will you achieve? What will you do? Why is it important?
Measurable: What data will you use to decide if you’ve met the goal?
Achievable: How realistic is this goal based on your skills, resources, and capacity?
Relevant: Does the goal align with your purpose as an individual or organization?
Timely: What is the deadline for accomplishing the goal?
Whether you want to increase website traffic, grow your social media following, or launch new products, having specific objectives will guide your content creation efforts. If you’ve had a social media engagement rate performing at a solid 3%, it might be unrealistic to expect yourself to increase that to 15% if you are a one-person team or oversee other parts of your company’s digital marketing such as website updates. Budget can also constrain how much you’re able to achieve, so go easy on yourself before you set expectations that outpace your finances.
Most importantly, you want to make sure that the goals you set out to achieve align with your business’ objectives and values. If, for example, you want your organization to branch out into advocacy work, you need to make sure that it makes sense for your company to do so and matches with your beliefs as a company. If it doesn’t, it might seem out of place or alienate your audiences who aren’t sure of what to make of your company’s decision. Ensuring that each of your goals align with your overall business objectives provides a roadmap for success.
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Conduct a Content Audit
Once you have goals established, it’s time to start creating digital content, right? Before you jump in, evaluate your existing content to make sure it aligns with your goals and resonates with your target audience. As you go through content, identify high-performing pieces that can be repurposed or updated for relevancy. If there is any outdated content that may hinder your online reputation, unpublish it and figure out how you can rework it or take it offline permanently.
Something I also like to do is go through social media posts I saved, videos I bookmarked, or emails I kept for subject line inspiration. Although it might have gotten my attention at the time, it may no longer be meaningful to audiences where they are now. The approach in these content pieces might have been effective a year or two ago, but it may not be as engaging anymore due to the influence of trends or current events.
Figure out what is connecting with your audiences and don’t be afraid to pivot your strategy when needed. Remember, a well-organized and up-to-date content library sets the stage for successful content that attracts your target audience.
Refresh Your Digital Channels
The new year is a time for a reboot in every sense of the word. Digital content is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, which is why it’s so important to go through your channels to see what might need a refresh. Below are ways you can give your content a fresh look:
Social media profiles: Update your accounts with current information, including profile pictures, cover photos, and contact details. It’s also a good idea to look at specific features such as Instagram story highlight cover images. As you go through your content plans and strategies, make sure it matches your brand voice and followers.
Website: One thing I do every year is update my website with new samples of my work and check for places where descriptions might need fine-tuning. Since your website is often the first point of contact for your audience, you’ll want to make sure that it reflects your current brand image and is optimized for user experience. Refresh your website design, check for broken links, and enhance images and videos for faster loading times.
Email: Revitalize your strategy by reviewing your subscriber list, removing inactive contacts, and personalizing your content to cater to specific audience segments. Implementing engaging visuals, compelling subject lines, and strategic timing can breathe new life into your email campaigns.
Videos, Photos, and Audio: Have a podcast or regularly produce videos for content? Elevate your digital content by figuring out which dynamic and new storytelling techniques might engage with your audiences. Don’t be afraid to try new editing styles and formats and leverage the technology to captivate your audience across various platforms.
Plan Your Content Calendar
A content calendar is something I live by as a digital content producer. A well-planned content calendar is essential for consistency and efficiency. It’s the only way I can juggle all of the content pieces I have lined up and be able to provide a thorough reasoning for why I can or can’t pursue a specific request for digital content.
As you outline a schedule for creating and publishing content throughout the year, be sure to include important dates, events, and trends that align with your brand such as key holidays. As you start to find publishing dates for content, a calendar provides a big picture view of how that content adds value to your audience and whether or not it aligns with your brand’s story.
As you start to put together a calendar, incorporate a mix of formats, such as blog posts, videos, and infographics, to keep your content diverse and engaging. And, don’t be afraid to remove something from the calendar that no longer works for your brand or your audiences.
Create, Track, Review, Repeat
As you create digital content throughout the year, it’s important to take a moment to stop and review how far you’ve come. Continue to track analytics and set aside time to review your content’s performance so you can determine what’s working and what might need further improvement. Tastes and needs can evolve over the year, so it’s important to see where you might need to pivot your approach.
As you embark on a content journey in the coming months, remember that consistency, relevance, and adaptability are key. Embrace the opportunity to connect with your audience, tell compelling stories, and achieve your objectives in the year ahead. Cheers to a year filled with innovative and impactful digital content!
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